2008 Summer Journey

[VintageDirt]

Wow!

[ladybeemer]

Gypsy,

Great trip report and pics. I'm hoping to head out to Arkansas at the end of June for a few days, and reading your reports is only making me anxious to pack my bags.

Looking forward to your writings from the Rockies.

Ride safe,

[mnnden]

Great story and pictures (as usual) I always learn a little from your posts and this one was no exception, this picture really sparked my interest, Thanks Den


A interesting read, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okbits/swilliams.html

[1MPH]

Continuing.........

Looks like they are saying goodbye Gypsy come and see us again.
The installments keep getting better and better.
Thanks for taking the time to post.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Wonderful write up Gypsy; you have a knack of making one feel part of the story.
That is a Luna Moth, btw. And, coincidentally, I have had that wine...you chose well.

The "un"origianlity of the MOdel A made it unique, I think. What a character!
Please keep up the good work and stay safe


John

[Sunbeemer]

Every one of your pictures tells a story, and your stories paint great pictures. Thanks for the travelogue and best of luck on your future journeys. We look forward to hearing about them, too.

[famousperson]

Great write up and pictures! Looking forward to more.

[GypsyRR]

thanks for the encouragement and kind words. I'm in the Rockies now. Hopefully I can publish some photos and a report tonight.

Kristi

[bmwdave52]

Awesome pics...as usual.
I like that seat bag you have.

[Dr. Strangelove]

hello, all,

GypsyRR asked that I post this for her as her internet service is spotty in the boonies where she finds herself.
She is in Colorado and says this dirt road goes on for 30 miles and is very very scenic. I am sure a ride report will follow, but her excitement over her surroundings prompts the request to post this tease. She is the area of Phantom Canyon.



and farther along



John

[VintageDirt]

What an awesome place to be at 8:21

[1MPH]

hello, all,

GypsyRR asked that I post this tease.



John

That Gypsy is such a tease

[CycleRob]

Wow!

Great narration and phenomenal pics. I especially like these 3:
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319 ... G_3823.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319 ... CN0663.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319 ... G_4200.jpg

After first meeting GypsyRR at last years Ozark mini-Bash, group riding with, group dining with and then working with her on her bike for several hours I got to know her genuine kindness, sizable generosity, penchant for quality and teenage spirit of adventure. Always wanting to remain hidden while in reality was one of the biggest support posts and drive wheels of the event. That still doesn't seem to measure up to what I know it takes to put your 2 bikes on a borrowed F-350 truck-n-trailer and take off for a Summer camping adventure . . . . alone. Even though her bevy of personal protection "items" look like the latest Hi-tech black art Delta Force issue, it's still not safe to camp in areas where the nearby group of male campers are drunk and bears break into car's thru closed windows for food. Not many middle aged moms I know have even accomplished half as much . . . . or even want to. Nor do they have the literary and photographic talents to put it all together in such a professional manner worthy of using FireFox's "Save Page As ..." command.

I am a very happily married man whose peaceful retirement is sometimes interrupted to willingly become one of her E-Mail and/or telephone pit crew for our lady adventurer. It's entertaining, costs me nothing but time, don't mind it at all and neither does my wonderful wife Ann. Those 2-way pit stops are still not bike disabling and switch her from "bike worries" back to "2 wheels rolling" . . . . with a smile.

You GO Girl !!

[GypsyRR]

Thanks Doc, for posting that iPhone photo for me. Not the best quality picture, for sure, but it conveys the setting of the canyon pretty well at least. But, I'm ahead of myself.

I am in a motel tonight, but did not arrive until after 11:00 p.m. So, again, I do not have time to upload photos to a hosting site so that I can post them here. I keep falling asleep when I sit still!!!

Before I get to post pictures of the Rockies, I really need to tell you about my trip out here with my daughter. She is going to live in Colorado Springs for the summer. So after Arkansas I picked her up in Texas and brought her all the way to Colorado Springs, with a two day detour in Blanco, Texas for R&R and then a stop at "grandma and grandpa's" in Midland, Texas. But, I have yet to load those photos to a hosting site. Soon. I just never have time and when I do have a few minutes time, I don't have internet.

In the meantime - another tease:






I'm on the western side of Colorado now. And when I get time, I'll get photos uploaded to a hosting site. I don't want to skip the report of the days with my daughter. But, until then..... here is another photo from Phantom Canyon. We REALLY need to do a ride up here next year!!

Rob:

Thanks for more incentive to keep going. I'm glad you liked those photos. Sorry about leaving you hanging on whether or not I got back on the road. Internet and cell service was very very spotty for the days I was in the canyon.

More photos coming as soon as I can. Thanks again for the encouragement.

Kristi

[1MPH]

Not to worry. Your Photos and writting are worth the wait.
Thanks for posting.

[GypsyRR]

What a time so far. So many stories and sights to share, but I need some structure to this report so sequentially seems to make the most sense.

First - I'm really tired. The last few nights have been very cold and I could not seem to get warm enough. Yesterday on another whim, I tired of the area I was in, and decided to relocate at about 10:00 pm. I asked a couple of locals at a gas station, "If you could go anywhere in Colorado right now, where would it be?" Both said quickly - Buena Vista area. Only 70 miles from there, so I decided it could be done. I asked them if it were a big enough town for me to find a place to sleep just on the fly. "Oh yeah, it's about as big as Woodland Park!!" Maybe I haven't seen all of Buena Vista yet, but it's not that big and it seems to be a big destination spot for river rafters. Consequently, I got here hoping to have a real bed and a real shower last night and found neither. Not a campground that late at night either. I was too tired to try. I ended up sleeping in a parking lot. Not my first choice, and not a good night's sleep. I woke at 5:00 a.m. so I could get out of the parking lot before the sun rose. Then I went around trying to find a restroom. Nothing was open. So weary eyed, I walked into the Super 8 Motel and asked to use their restroom and wifi. So - here I am. I thought I'd get something written while here and then be on my way again.

so - where did I leave off? Oh yeah - on my way to Colorado. I came to Colorado via Blanco, Texas for a day on the Blanco River with my daughter and then on to Midland to visit my parents and a night of sleep, and then on to Colorado Springs. I was headed first to the Springs because my daughter has a summer job there. So I decided I'd travel while she works and I'd be back to get her sometime around August 3-6.

So - meet my daughter "K" and all the stuff she is taking with her for the summer. Sheeeeesh!!! Look at all the stuff. I have two bags on the floor board - the rest is all hers. That's her behind the pile of stuff.



"K" does not travel well - so a stop at my friend's cabin in Blanco would break up the first 500 miles. On the way, she said she forgot some items she needed for her stay in CS, so a detour to Target was needed. Ugh. I knew this was going to be huge. Once inside, she took a look at me and said - "Mom - let me help you out here. You need some new cute clothes before you take off on this journey." She is a shopper. I'm not. I reminded her that I was camping and riding and fishing - but she assured me that bears would not attack me if I "look cute." Oh well. So I let her shop.



By the time she was done shopping for me, I had new purse, 3 new pairs of shoes, several shirts, some shorts, swim suit, skirt, sweater, and jewelry - no kidding. She's good at finding bargains. That night when we arrived at the cabin - she said we had to have a style show - "to show you what goes with what, Mom." Ugh. I gave in. No photos. Sorry. But - I bet this is the first ride report that includes a shopping spree and style show!

The next morning at the cabin, "K" found the keys to the Kawasaki Mule, and she was off - for a while. Then we went swimming in the river and fishing. We spent one more night there and then were on to see my parents.



The road to Midland and beyond is boring until Clayton, NM. "K" gets car sick - or just bored. I'm not sure which, but I handed her a couple of dramamine and soon she was out and I finally had some 'alone with my thoughts' time.







Rolling into Midland - this is what the temperature was: 107. I took this photo because I knew I would see a huge change within 24 hours. Sure enough - 55 degrees difference within 24 hours and 70 degree difference within a 5 days.



A night at grandma and grandpa's house and then on the road again - a 13 hour drive ahead of us. Most of them more flat land, but I did see a couple of hills in the distance and then this great train coming when I was walking out of the restroom at a rest stop. I took photos, "K" took time to unwind.











After the comments about snakes in the camping equipment thread, I laughed when I saw this sign at the rest stop. I mean - hey, if they hang around at rest stops full of people - they could be hanging around my campsite too!!!



Pretty soon - about the time you have HAD ENOUGH OF THIS FLAT WASTELAND, finally - the mountains do appear and things get beautiful. This is the first mountain pass - Raton. What a change.

AND - let me add this about "K" - she doesn't appreciate my need to take photos. So most of these, other than the rest stop ones, were taking out the window while driving. Not the way I like to work, but I don't like to be around a grumpy whining drama queen either!!



I arrived in Colorado Springs around 7:00 pm. She is going to be living right next to Garden of the Gods, so we made a run through there before settling in a hotel for the night. The next day, I moved her to her home for the summer. She will be living with friends of mine - and has a sweet set up there. I called her yesterday to see if she needed me to come by and see her before I headed further west - just in case she was getting lonely. Nope. She was on a mountain with a couple of friends she already made and "really, Mom, unless you just want to come by, I'm doing fine. Go have fun. Just send a SPOT message each day so I know you are still alive. I hope you don't take this wrong, Mom. Don't feel bad, I'm just so busy."
I don't feel bad. That just means she's adjusting well, and is going to do fine. Every parent wants to hear that. So......I travel on. More to come - next time I get some down time.

This is "K's" backyard area.








And coming up in a future report - a fishing trip yesterday yielded a few rainbow trout.

[MikeCam]

Driving, shopping, stylin' and fishin'.

Did you get any good rides?

[GypsyRR]

Did you get any good rides?

Yes!! The rides so far have been the best. I can't imagine them getting any better. Next time I have enough electricity and Internet, I can add some more actual motorcycle riding reports. Just came over a mountain pass. 12,950 feet elevation. My bike doesnt like that elevation!

Good news. Ive learned to back up the trailer.

[1MPH]

Good news. Ive learned to back up the trailer.

See nothing to it.

[bruno71]

GypsyRR,
Great on-the-fly report. My family and I visited Buena Vista, CO during the summer of '06. Among other things, rented some ATVs in the "ghost town" of Elmo and explored the old mining and logging roads for a couple of days. The trails can get pretty rough (rocky) near the continental divide, but it is beautiful country. We were caught in a hail storm on the 31st of July that left a 3/8 to 1/2 inch of nickle sized hail on the ground. We had to dismount the ATVs and huddle together under my rain poncho until it passed because the hail stung terribly when it hit even well covered skin. Of course, it left us with a great story to tell. We also did a little white water rafting, but I think that section of the Arkansas River is fairly tame by most serious rafter standards.

Thanks in advance for the photos and enjoy your trip.

-Bruno